Social Audit... Research Findings - Local Services - Education

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2.6    Local Services  

2.6.1   Education Services  

As can be seen in Table 9, respondents to the questionnaire survey expressed high levels of satisfaction with the services provided by local schools and colleges. Nine out of ten (90%) of the general sample described local schools as either excellent, good or acceptable, whilst 85%  of the sample gave the same rating to further education opportunities in the area.     

Table 9: Proportion of respondents describing education and training opportunities as excellent, good or acceptable (%)

Service

%

Schools

90

Further Education

85

Training Opportunity

62

Crucially the high levels of satisfaction with local schools is not just a feature of the general sample but is equally apparent amongst those members of the sample with dependent children, 92% of whom rated local schools as excellent, good or acceptable. Moreover in focus group discussions young people also tended to be very positive about local schools:    

 

“we’ve got a good school with loads of after school clubs and activities ....that's what we like”    

 

However, it is also the case that many of the local junior schools in the area are now around a hundred years old or more, and that the physical fabric is both deteriorating and increasingly unsuitable for contemporary needs. In particular, there were criticisms about the lack of space for sporting activities and basic equipment such as benches for use during break and lunchtimes. Some of the young people who were interviewed clearly felt constrained by this:

 

“our school is quite boring because there is no park”

“we aren’t hardly ever allowed on the grass at our school”      

 

Conclusion 9: 

The research findings demonstrate high levels of satisfaction with local education services amongst parents, pupils and the general population. However, there does appear to be a need to upgrade sporting and recreational facilities in some local primary schools. 

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